The House of Representatives has canvassed for the reversal of the ban on production of alcoholic drinks, particularly those in sachets and 200 ml bottles.
Specifically, the house urged the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NAFDAC) to lift the ban.
This is sequel to consideration of the report of the Committee on NAFDAC which investigated the ban.
The House Deputy spokesperson, Hon. Philip Agbese, who spoke on Friday decried the policy, saying it will affect the downtrodden.
According to Agbese, it is within people’s fundamental human right to decide what they consume especially for adult who can make their own decision.
“We are here as representative of the people to protect the interest of the masses. And I think as a matter of fact, it was one policy of government that was targeted at the poor.
“If you pick a packet of cigarette you’ll see on it that cigarette smoking is dangerous to your health, yet people still buy cigarette to smoke.
“What is the health implications for consuming sachet drink when people consume the same content in bottles, I think to be very mild, it’s highly hypocritical.
“One of the presentations we received at the course of the hearing, a certain segment of the country with lower incomes raised the issue of fundamental human rights, harassment and discrimination”.
Commenting on children who consume the sachet drinks, “Now if you look at it, Benylin Codeine and other cough syrubs are being consumed by the children of the rich. They are still sold in pharmacies and stores, nobody has placed a ban on them”.
